Ulster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread.

irishbucsfan

Matt Sexton would be my personal selection but I know Kirwan is s fantastic coach as well.

Their lack of club coaching is 100% irrelevant. Humphreys takes care of the off field business. Either would be absolutely brilliant.

Kirwan might actually suit the team better the more I think about it, with him being a backs man and with Muller having already taken on the pack.

jacothelad

CatFromHue wrote: »

Well Kirwan has little to no club head coach experience, or any club coaching experience for that matter. His international experience has not been stellar but it's very hard to gauge as he didn't have great players.

Matt Sexton as far as I know is the Canterbury academy manger and has little or no head/senior coaching experience. I got this from the two links below.
http://www.totalrugby.co.nz/services/coaching/
http://www.canterburyrugby.co.nz/net/contact/staff-list.aspx

Neither are great candidates and while McLaughlin had little head coaching experience when he took over it makes no sense to replace him with either Kirwan or Sexton.

Brian had no head coaching experience except for a time at Malone who were relegated under his stewardship. Brian is undoubtedly a great skills coach and I hope he takes over the Academy - a position that would improve it a lot and make best use of his talent.

Sexton of course played for Ulster and has a great rapport with the club and the fans. He also should have been awarded the position of Academy head when he applied but it was given to another ex-player who had no experience or qualifications for the job. Does anyone think this shows in the Ravens play and results?

People are reacting emotionally to this news. His contract is up in May. He has no divine right to a new one. That is how these things work. Ulster have been a little better in the last two years and seem to have taken a lurch forward since the arrival of Afoa and the recent contribution of Muller to the coaching side of things. Go along to Newforge and watch. The team has better players - considerably so therefore you would expect an upswing. It's good to at last see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel but let's not get carried away. Ulster have already lost more league games than in the whole of last season. Some of the play and selections have been awful and some of the play has been so simple and repetitive that we knew in the stand what the next play would be. All this is not down solely to Brian but it is his job to bring all the parts together so that the whole is greater than the sum of those parts.

People point to the victory over a drab Tigers team with some key players absent. Well, we've been there before. 33 - 0, 33 -3 over Toulouse, 47 something against Wasps, 35 - 35 at Toulouse etc.

Ulster of course are taking a chance when the safe course would be to renew Brian's contract. Perhaps it is Brian's decision, not that of the other management team.

I know little about Kirwan. The only thing I will say is that in their dealings involving signings, Logan and Humphreys have been very shrewd and have shown safe hands so far. It's their job to do the best for Ulster, not keep their friends in work.

shuffol

Good point about performance, people are looking at the fact that Ulster hadnt gotten past the group stages of the HC since 99 and now seem to be getting rid of the coach who's done it 2 years in a row. When you look through their team though after the signings that have been made a HC quarter final should be the least of their expectations, especially with Aironi in their group both years.

jacothelad

shuffol wrote: »

Good point about performance, people are looking at the fact that Ulster hadnt gotten past the group stages of the HC since 99 and now seem to be getting rid of the coach who's done it 2 years in a row. When you look through their team though after the signings that have been made a HC quarter final should be the least of their expectations, especially with Aironi in their group both years.

People also forget how unlucky Ulster were in a number of high profile games in the Heineken Cup over the years. They suffered very badly several times on the back of really bad refereeing decisions and sheer bad luck. In the first 4 or 5 years of the league Ulster were the highest try scorers, were runners up twice? third a few times(?) and won it in 2005. None of these issues means Ulster were anywhere near where older fans like myself have seen them perform over the years. Nor were they as competitive week in and out as Munster or Leinster.

The greatest challenge at Ravenhill is to turn the deluge of young talent into pro players. This is failing as far as I can see. Players are entering with great skills and abilities and simply wasting their time. I'd like to know why but can only speculate.

The lack of big forwards emerging is a worry. Last year Ulster tried the same thing as leinster when guys of 6'5" and over were asked to come along to the Sports section of UUJ for a try out. I don't know how that went. I suspect not very productively.

bilston

jacothelad wrote: »

People also forget how unlucky Ulster were in a number of high profile games in the Heineken Cup over the years. They suffered very badly several times on the back of really bad refereeing decisions and sheer bad luck. In the first 4 or 5 years of the league Ulster were the highest try scorers, were runners up twice? third a few times(?) and won it in 2005. None of these issues means Ulster were anywhere near where older fans like myself have seen them perform over the years. Nor were they as competitive week in and out as Munster or Leinster.

The greatest challenge at Ravenhill is to turn the deluge of young talent into pro players. This is failing as far as I can see. Players are entering with great skills and abilities and simply wasting their time. I'd like to know why but can only speculate.

The lack of big forwards emerging is a worry. Last year Ulster tried the same thing as leinster when guys of 6'5" and over were asked to come along to the Sports section of UUJ for a try out. I don't know how that went. I suspect not very productively.

Well Jaco are you a grumpy old man over here as well?! My first post is replying to you!

Bit of a worry the lack of homegrown forwards. Only McAlistair has really come on in the last couple of years, Macklin and maybe Henderson are the only other two I can think of that are close to making the step up but they're still way down the pecking order.

jacothelad

bilston wrote: »

Well Jaco are you a grumpy old man over here as well?! My first post is replying to you!

Bit of a worry the lack of homegrown forwards. Only McAlistair has really come on in the last couple of years, Macklin and maybe Henderson are the only other two I can think of that are close to making the step up but they're still way down the pecking order.

Hi Bils. Yeah! Not too many of the lads on here but it's good fun.

irishbucsfan

Welcome Bilston, Ulster posters are very much welcome here as they provide a welcome break from the Leinster/Munster stuff!

I have to agree. Although the age profile of the pack isn't massively high. Sure, in the back row, Wilson will raise it if he starts but in Henry and Ferris you've got young flankers alongside guys like Diack, Falloon and hopefully Birch when he leaves the academy. In the second row you would probably be really hoping for Henderson to fulfill his potential, not sure if Stephenson or Barker offer anything in the long term to replace Muller so I suppose that is a potential worry.

At prop you're looking at Court, Afoa and McAllister for the foreseeable future. I'd imagine Afoa will move on at the behest of the IRFU but I can't see that being before 2014/15. Hopefully by then Ulster will have better depth at TH. Can't see Conor Carey developing into a pro TH though... I think well need to consult Jaco's prop fairy on that one. Hooker could do with depth. I don't rate Brady or Kyriacou beyond RPD12 level and Annett seems small. Although Best has a few years left in him yet.


I think the new coach may really help youth development. Especially if it is Sexton as the rumours suggest, bringing his Crusaders experience.

CiaranMT

Lads, just our of interest, what the heck was done with Bryan Young up at Ravenhill? The man travelled to the WC and got a few caps, but he's now playing in Italy?

damianmcr

He travelled to the WC? Are you sure about that?

Agus

damianmcr wrote: »

He travelled to the WC? Are you sure about that?

He was in the 2007 World Cup squad.

vinny chase

damianmcr wrote: »

He travelled to the WC? Are you sure about that?

2007.

damianmcr

I meant this year sorry.

bilston

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Welcome Bilston, Ulster posters are very much welcome here as they provide a welcome break from the Leinster/Munster stuff!

I have to agree. Although the age profile of the pack isn't massively high. Sure, in the back row, Wilson will raise it if he starts but in Henry and Ferris you've got young flankers alongside guys like Diack, Falloon and hopefully Birch when he leaves the academy. In the second row you would probably be really hoping for Henderson to fulfill his potential, not sure if Stephenson or Barker offer anything in the long term to replace Muller so I suppose that is a potential worry.

At prop you're looking at Court, Afoa and McAllister for the foreseeable future. I'd imagine Afoa will move on at the behest of the IRFU but I can't see that being before 2014/15. Hopefully by then Ulster will have better depth at TH. Can't see Conor Carey developing into a pro TH though... I think well need to consult Jaco's prop fairy on that one. Hooker could do with depth. I don't rate Brady or Kyriacou beyond RPD12 level and Annett seems small. Although Best has a few years left in him yet.


I think the new coach may really help youth development. Especially if it is Sexton as the rumours suggest, bringing his Crusaders experience.

Thanks for the welcome.

I've only seen a bit of Henderson but he looks like a good footballer for a second row, he probably needs to fill out a bit, he was injured for the first half of this season afaik so it will be interesting to see how he gets on tomorrow night for the 20s. Stevenson may have something to offer but Barker will only ever be a squad filler. We could always bring Caldwell back eventually! But as you say apart from Muller and Wannenberg the rest of the pack are young enough to be around for a few years yet. Depth is our biggest problem though.

cartoonninja

Really impressed with henderson last night in the u20s game he seems to have bulked up. Good to see ulster producing forwards to go with the abundance of backs

cartoonninja

cartoonninja wrote: »

Really impressed with henderson last night in the u20s game he seems to have bulked up. Good to see ulster producing forwards to go with the abundance of backs

Thought he was monstrously physical. Very very good performance from him.

leonard7

ulster boys bowe and best scoring for ireland showing the other provinces how its done :P

shuffol

Anybody know how James Sandford is getting on at London Irish? Saw his name among the replacements for one of the HC games a few weeks back, was he rated at all by Ulster?

jacothelad

shuffol wrote: »

Anybody know how James Sandford is getting on at London Irish? Saw his name among the replacements for one of the HC games a few weeks back, was he rated at all by Ulster?

He was regarded as being pretty talented but he was always behind the senior second rows so he moved on - foolishly in my opinion but - there you go.

jacothelad

Published on Monday 6 February 2012 23:06

IRELAND’S Paddy Wallace trained with his Ulster team mates yesterday as the Province prepare to return to PRO12 action on Friday night with the visit to Ravenhill of Newport Gwent Dragons.
Although Wallace was due back with the Ireland camp today as they gear up for the task of getting their Six Nations Championship campaign back on track in Paris on Saturday, it was widely expected Declan Kidney would be releasing him to his Province.
There may have been slim hopes that Kidney would give Wallace a spot on the Irish matchday panel in light of the poor performance by the midfield in Sunday’s loss to Wales.
However, with options such as Tommy Bowe available if Kidney was to look for a change, Wallace may not be involved for a second weekend.
Chris Henry, who also trained with Ulster yesterday, was also expected to be released along with lock, Dan Tuohy, who is also on the Irish 30-man squad.
Ulster head coach, Brian McLaughlin has continued to take training along with his assistants Neil Doak and Jonny Bell, in spite of last Tuesday’s media speculation indicating that the trio would possibly not be involved in the coaching set up next season - something which Ulster Rugby have yet to confirm, or indeed, deny.
Ulster have a number of key PRO12 games during the Six Nations period and the pressure is on the side to show an improved form when they were missing players at the start of the season due to the Rugby World Cup.
However, Ulster will have their overseas compliment on board this time and it will be the perfect time to register some good wins and keep themselves on course for a top four finish and successive play-offs for the title.
There was good news on the injury front with prop Paddy McAllister back in the mix for selection.
Fellow prop, Declan Fitzpatrick and centre, Darren Cave both remain out of contention as they continue rehab on neck and foot injuries respectively.
Ulster currently lie in sixth place in the table, three points behind Scarlets and four behind Glasgow.
Both those sides will meet on Thursday night and the result of that will mean a win for Ulster can thrust them up one more place in the table and keep them in touch with those challenging for the top four.

irishbucsfan

Gerry Thornley saying this morning that Bowe is set to sign for Ulster.

Nothing on a coach yet.

Benny Cake

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Gerry Thornley saying this morning that Bowe is set to sign for Ulster.

Nothing on a coach yet.

Ulster the likely destination as Bowe considers end-of-season move

GERRY THORNLEY

TOMMY BOWE looks set to rejoin Ulster at the end of the season after choosing his native province ahead of Munster.
The Irish winger still has over a year left on his current contract with the Ospreys and has also attracted interest from French clubs, and hence a deal to play for Ulster has yet to be agreed and signed, though it looks his likeliest destination now.
Part of the stumbling block would be wages, as it is believed that Bowe is earning in the region of £350,000 (€422,000) per year at the Ospreys and would have to take a significant drop in earnings if he were to return to Ireland. A move back to Ulster had been explored at the end of last season, while Munster have expressed an interest in the Lions winger this time around, but the 27-year-old is apparently more receptive to the idea of rejoining Ulster now.
Having broken into the Ulster team at the end of the 2003-04 season, scoring on his debut against Connacht, Bowe spent four seasons with his native province before joining the Ospreys after missing out on Eddie Sullivan’s squad for the 2007 World Cup.
During a prolific time in Swansea, Bowe undoubtedly became a better player. He won both the Ulster and Ireland Player of the Year awards in 2008 before signing a three-year extension to his initial two-year deal, following which he played a leading role in Ireland’s 2009 Grand Slam success and was a regular starter for the Lions throughout the test series in South Africa, playing at outside centre in the third test.
He maintained his form in 2009-’10, adorning an outstanding performance with two tries in the win over England at Twickenham and was voted 2010 Six Nations Player of the Championship.
However, since the end of last season, there has been a changing of the guard at the Ospreys, with Lee Byrne, James Hook and Mike Phillips all having left during the close-season. The Welsh region failed to reach the knock-out stages of the Heineken Cup and although Bowe was orchestrator in chief of one try and scored the other last Sunday against Wales (his 20th in 45 tests for Ireland) he is not quite the assured player of, say, this time last season.
Aside from the feeling that his Ospreys four-year sojourn has perhaps run its course, after initially rejuvenating his career, Ulster are a more ambitious and upwardly mobile force in Europe and the league than when he left.
The former Monaghan minor Gaelic footballer will turn 28 later this month and he might also be looking at Irish team-mates such as Stephen Ferris, Rory Best and Andrew Trimble, and see the benefits in the IRFU’s player management programme. However, no deal has yet been signed and it could be a while yet before pen is formally put to paper.

CatFromHue

Not great news for Wallace, I'd like to have seen him picked ahead of D'arcy for Ireland.

I was just looking at the price of the tickets for the HEC QF and it seems someone is making a bit more money than they should.

From the Munster site:
Cat A Stand - €50
Cat B Stand - €40
Adult Terrace - €30

From the Ulster site (in brackets is the euro equivalent as of this morning):
Category A: £46 (55.45)
Category B: £38 (45.81)
Terrace: £29 (34.96)

The only thing I can think of for this is that one price includes the ticketmaster/service charge and the other one doesn't. If not it's a pretty unethical practice.

trackguy

BBC also reporting on Bowe's imminent signing for Ulster.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/16924378

I feel sorry for McLaughlin but if Ulster bring in a really top-level coach, things are looking very good in the years to come.

Podge_irl

CatFromHue wrote: »

The only thing I can think of for this is that one price includes the ticketmaster/service charge and the other one doesn't. If not it's a pretty unethical practice.

There is also the element of currency exchange. The rates are variable and it costs money. It's not so straightforward.

CiaranMT

Scrum.com have an article on Kirwan expressing an interest in coaching you lot:

http://www.espnscrum.com/rabodirect-pro12-2011-12/rugby/story/159168.html

the_doctor199

Statement from Brian McLaughlin.

"Further to yesterday's press conference and the subsequent media reports I wish to clarify my situation and apologise for any misunderstanding that may have arisen.

Last year I sought and was successful in securing a permanent contract with Ulster Rugby. This allowed me the job security to leave my teaching post and follow a professional coaching career. At the same time, I extended my role as Head Coach for the 2011-12 season.

While I will be leaving the post of Head Coach in June this year I will not be leaving the staff and in fact will take on a senior coaching role within the Ulster Academy. This is an important role which I take very seriously and one to which I will bring extensive experience. It also indicates the investment we are making in our future players.

I look forward to finishing this season strongly with the senior team and am committed to my new role developing the Ulster players of the future."

dreamer_ire

Anyone just see that Ulster try??

I am pie

Was a beauty, decent game so far.

Funkstard

Two excellent tries from Ulster there! Great match so far despite the conditions, ball being flung around

irishbucsfan

dreamer_ire wrote: »

Anyone just see that Ulster try??

Missed it myself.

Was it good?

Ulster: 15 Adam D'Arcy, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Paddy Wallace, 11 Stefan Terblanche, 10 Ian Humphreys, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Robbie Diack, 7 Willie Faloon, 6 Mike McComish, 5 Dan Tuohy, 4 Lewis Stevenson, 3 John Afoa (capt), 2 Andi Kyriacou, 1 Callum Black.
Replacements: 16 Nigel Brady, 17 Paddy McAllister, 18 Adam Macklin, 19 Tim Barker, 20 Ali Birch, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Nevin Spence, 23 Simon Danielli.


Dragons: 15 Martyn Thomas, 14 Jamie Smith, 13 Adam Hughes, 12 Ashley Smith (capt), 11 Aled Brew, 10 Jason Tovey, 9 Wayne Evans, 8 Gavin Thomas, 7 Darren Waters, 6 Jevon Groves, 5 Rob Sidoli, 4 Adam Jones, 3 Nathan Buck, 2 Steve Jones, 1 Nathan Williams.
Replacements: 16 Rhys Buckley, 17 Phil Price, 18 Dan Way, 19 Hugo Ellis, 20 Tom Brown, 21 Joe Bedford, 22 Andy Tuilagi, 23 Lewis Robling.


Date: Friday, February 10
Kick-off: 19:05
Venue: Ravenhill
Referee: Carlo Damasco (Italy)